All points will be counted until the final furlong of the Premiership season and on this evidence Bath will have a reason to thank Finn Russell when the play-off totals are finished. A desire to compete for silverware was one of the reasons why the Scottish fly-half relocated to the West Country, but he, along with Joe Cokanasiga, was a key player in taking the team to second place in the standings. He became one of the key players in the victory.
A dominant performance from Bath’s forwards in the final quarter also contributed to Sale’s sixth consecutive defeat in all competitions, but Russell was involved in four of his team’s five tries and produced some impressive kicks from all angles. His Premiership career, in which he hit the ball and even scored his first drop goal, came off the back of a weak left foot. Kokanasiga’s two tries and England’s Ollie Lawrence’s one also boosted the home berth’s overall advantage.
Had Cokanasiga held on to a pass from Lawrence in the closing stages, when the big wing’s hat-trick looked like a formality, the unfavorable final gap might have been even wider. But by then, the Sharks had long since hoisted up on a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon on the banks of the River Avon, and Russell was diving in preparation for bigger assignments ahead.
With the score tied at 24-24 with 17 minutes remaining, a home win never seemed to be guaranteed, but Sale’s set-pieces were starting to get messy and it took a player as skilled as Russell to capitalize on them with a fast ball. Not there. Bath racked up 18 unanswered points, including a small wobbly drop goal off Russell’s left foot in 12 minutes, to move within two points of leaders Northampton with five games left in the regular season.
Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson immediately described Bath as a team that can win games in a variety of ways. They can cut open opponents, as Russell has happily done a couple of times by pulling all sorts of strings, or they can frustrate teams with scrum-half Ben Spencer’s excellent kicking game; You can also just go straight to route 1 if you want. If all three can come together and stay mentally level, they could be strong candidates this year.
Sale was not a passive observer. Attacking with purpose at times, Manu Tuilagi spun out of Russell’s tackle and burned through the covers to put his team ahead in the first quarter, giving Bayonne big money to sign him for next season. The reason for voting was shown. However, this time the rejuvenated Cokanasiga looked just as dangerous and after an early chance he begged for a pass, offloading Russell, Tom Dunne and finally Cam Redd to turn him around and take the lead. I got it back.
George Ford, who was playing on the flat line as he had been with England, also asked questions of his former club, and Sale opened the scoring after half-time, with Spencer’s pass intercepted and schooled by Tom Roebuck. . However, despite losing Alfie Barbeary at half-time to a hamstring strain and Lawrence to a yellow card, Bath always looked capable of solving problems when needed.
Cokanasiga scored their second touchdown (10th try in nine games) with a deft flick from Russell and support from Sam Underhill and the excellent Ted Hill, with Sam Dugdale replying for Sale. Despite this, Bath were able to take control. Contests for important times. With the Sharks’ set-pieces and mauls under pressure, Dunne earned a try bonus point at the bottom, this time with a great offload from Will Muir to throw Lawrence over to the left.
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Bath director of rugby Johan van Graan was then at pains to stress that Russell was not the only weapon at the team’s disposal, but equally as the club looked to taste success both domestically and internationally. He acknowledged that Scots have a vital role to play in this process. Champions Cup. “He’s a great human being with a very unique personality,” Van Gren said, suggesting Russell was quick to parry Scotland’s rollercoaster Six Nations campaign. “He has the ability to forget the past…He fits in quickly.”
Mr. Sanderson, who was on the receiving end, was no less enthusiastic in his praise. “I’ve been in contact with him a few times today, but right now it’s a moment where I don’t have any contact with him. That was the case in the second half, but it’s a show-and-go moment. I feel like we’re in a really good position defensively. But I’m like, “Where did that come from?” He has the X-factor to magically create something out of nothing. ”
Bath’s next game is next week at Harlequins, which could be another epic contest. If they win, Van Graan’s team will enter the competition in earnest and will advance to the last 16 of the Champions Cup at Exeter. “As a club, we are dreaming big,” said Van Graan, who stressed that the team aims to compete in all aspects. At this rate, they may still do so.
